^ erm...it was amazon...or CDJ...?
I've actually forgotten
What is happening to my memory??
Orz
Anyway...I’m so late to the party (as always)
But here’s my
rant of love review on the BD which I, with no regrets (yet), sacrificed a nights’ worth of homework time to watch
Kalafina
oblivious:
- best performance since Seventh Heaven, but didn’t quite better it
- is it just me or did Sato add extra drum rolls when Wakana and Keiko sing together after their call-answer part?
- Hikaru’s soprano parts were beautiful, as they always are
As was Wakana and Keiko’s moment when they sang to each other
Kimi ga Hikari...:
- I had the feeling they all sang it a bit differently to previous performances – Waa and Kei seemed to clip their notes shorter rather than join them smoothly, Waa especially. Because of that and my own preferences for that more joined style, I think I probably prefer their old Seventh Heaven rendition. However I think Wakana sounded steadier in her last solo part in this version – the SH version she appeared to have slight difficulty pumping those notes out. Neither detracted too much from the overall appeal of the song for me, though, so I’m not too bothered about it.
- could hear the three girls more clearly during the kajiurago bit in the middle, which was nice harmonising
- both Waa and Kei started off beaaautifully on the first notes, Kei at the beginning of the song and Waka when she came in with her ‘konna ni kanashimi...’ (which was so nicely sung, my heart cramped with delight haha)
Kizuato:
- really, really loved it, overall Keiko and Wakana seemed to be giving it a more gentle feel than before during the verses. Also, they had wonderful
chemistry vocal harmony
- Keiko’s higher notes were very nice
- favourite line would have to be the ‘nee ikiteiru to’, Wakana’s voice there sounded so beautiful and gentle, and coupled with that tender look she shared with Keiko across the stage when they turned to each other...kyaa~
ARIA:
- Hikalu’s performance was AWESOME. At least on par with or better than Red Moon, I think. She’s improved so much
-harmony was just
- could hear Wakana’s harmony lines better, e.g. on ‘hajimata bakariiii’ and the ‘aria wo kasanetEEEEE’ since I could actually pick them out a bit better this time, I must say I think she does some impressive singing to hit those notes, which sound quite high. But then again, I don’t actually know how high those notes really are so...anyways –
- ironically, whilst I could hear Wakachan better in the harmony, I felt that she wasn’t loud enough during her lead chorus. But still good. Keiko was just...being awesome Keiko as usual
fairytale:
- Wakana’s voice was like OMG
She injected a bit more power into her singing at ‘yume ni mita eien wa’ onwards, which I loved, because they matched Sato’s ‘bigger’ drumming in that part
- beautiful harmony
- again, I don’t know if it’s just me not having heard fairytale live in a while, but were the drums a bit different? During the kajiurago part + the ‘yume ni mita eien waaaa...’ parts after that?
Like I mentioned before, I felt like Sato was pounding on them a bit more than I remember
It worked for me in this case because Wakana and Keiko were singing more powerfully (at least, that’s what I thought) in that call-answer part so they sort of matched the mood that the drums were setting...but if they’d have been more subdued or restrained in that part, I would have found it a little strange, perhaps? Since the original fairytale I’m used to doesn’t seem to be so dramatic there
- Hikaru’s ‘sayonaraaaaa’ was actually much better than the Red Moon one, imo. Sounded more controlled and a bit less shouty...although still quite loud. I think I still prefer Wakachan’s version in the studio recorded over Hikaru taking that line because the ‘distant’ sounding effect fits in more with the sort of feelings that the word ‘sayonara’ evokes, but meh, it doesn’t really matter because there’s no way Wakana can take that original line live without compromising her previous note. And Hikaru has done well to improve the way she delivers it
Seventh Heaven:
- Well, to give you an idea of my reaction to this song when it came up, it took me a moment to register what it was...the piano playing at first...and then Keiko started singing the first line...and then I kind of screamed, paused the video and had to text my friend going something along the lines of “OMG SEVENTH HEAVEN JUST CAME ON ACTUALLY CRYING RIGHT NOW BEEN WAITING FOR LIKE FIVE YEARS FOR THIS SONG SDLFKSDFJSKFJSKDFJNKF”. No jokes, I was actually pretty emotional and moved when it came on. Years of waiting, hoping, praying...finally culminated in this one glorious moment
Ahem; so, moving on, I really love SH because I love swelling ballads, its majesty, emotion...and I think it showcases all three of the girls’ voices in a really nice way :3
- Keiko was awesome (she always is, lol...why do I never have anything apart from that to say about her?
) her voice sounded wonderfully warm and rich.
- Side note: nice harmonising with Wakachan for a line or two there
it wasn’t that important but it just caught my attention for some reason. Their voices have always been a good match for me but recently I think their voices have changed a little so that they blend/mix better than before (previously I got the impression that while their voices complemented each other, I felt like Wakana’s voice was always more ‘sitting’ on top of Keiko’s rather than merging with it like Hikaru’s does)
- It’s always nice hearing the gentle, mellow side of Hikaru’s voice. I admire her rawness and power in songs like Magia, ARIA etc., but when she sings slower songs, her youthful and innocent-sounding voice is really very soothing, without being overly ‘cutesy’
- Wakana – AMAAAAAZZZZIIINNNNGGGGGGG OMGGGG
Okay, whilst I will sort of grudgingly admit she didn’t
quite emulate the sound of the studio version and fell a bit short of how effortless and smooth the original recording was, it was still pretty damn impressive of her to get all those high notes
I’m not sure about them (and if anyone knows, feel free to correct me), but those notes sounded really REALLY high...and she handled them pretty decently, imo, no shrieking/squawking /awkwardly obvious off-notes (I mean, I know this performance was probably edited and studio magicked etc. but that can’t fix everything, so I think it must’ve been at least an okay performance in itself)
- once more, as seemingly appeared many times in this concert, amazing harmonies
- and also, yet again, Sato Kyoichi added more drums again? They sounded very Hikari-furuesque in the middle of the song. The extra drums at the very end too, were unexpected and surprised me. It changed the mood of the ending, but I still liked it. Rather than mysterious and fading like the original version, it sounded much more like an uplifting/rousing ‘ending-song-of-concert’ along the lines of ‘I have a dream’, ‘sprinter’ or ‘symphonia’-ish feeling to me. Different, but nice.
- just a few tiny things to balance out (lol not really) my raving love for this song...I wished Kei and Waa hadn’t cut short their “zuuuuttoooo”...but then I guess they probably had to save their breath. Wakana and Hikaru strained on ‘so
be ni iru karaaaa’, and Wakachan was a tad flat for my liking on her ‘anata to watashi’ line over Hikaru...I guess her throat was probably feeling a bit funny after squeezing out her previous note.
- I’m just so glad this song finally came out and didn’t disappoint
snow falling:
- definitely a better rendition for me than After Eden’s one, because:
- Wakana sounded better; less shaky and more steady, with less stray notes (I think that can be said relatively safely since the AE snow falling was studio edited as well, so perhaps a comparison of the two can be better justified XD) Hikaru and Keiko were good as per usual.
- the pacing felt better in this one, without the weird tempo changes when they transitioned to the layered singing bit
No confetti this time though!
which is a shame because I think it really added poignancy to the AE performance, and likewise this time it might have just given a little extra to the mood
sprinter:
- Hikaru started off fantastic, got a bit tired/breathless sounding towards the end but she pulled it off. Keiko and Wakana were good, didn’t notice anything bad really to say. Except maybe if I’m going to be fussy, I would have liked it better if Wakana hadn’t clipped her “sekai ni hate ma-[pause]-DEEEEEEE” and instead done it all in one smooth breath
- replayed the ‘kimi ni aitai/kimi ga itoshii’ bit like TEN TIMES...I love that part of the song when they sing it live!
Every single time, they’re always so charming there~
I fall into a SQUEE-ing mess in front of the screen. If they can be so enchanting through a TV screen, I can only wonder at how it must feel to be sitting in the first row with them right in front you doing that...
manten:
- LOL Kaladansu I think everyone’s already said everything that can be said on this topic
- I don’t mean to be partial (but I can’t help lol) Wakana was so awesome! Awesome awesome awesome!
Nailed my favourite line ‘tsubasa wo hoshigatte’...nailed the mystery note “of liiiiiiife/of liiiight”...just...ahhhhhh
- Keiko’s voice is so delicious-sounding...
Enjoyed Hikaru’s highly passionate
angsting singing.
Her voice is so driving and raw and emotional
- the harmonies in this song were the best I’ve seen/heard so far. Very tight and clean, everyone reasonably in sync . They’ve definitely improved their harmonising skills over time
to the beginning:
- WAKANAAAAAAA
It’s so hard not to be biased and objective after hearing/seeing her in this song OMG
And this time I think I will go so far as to say that I thought her solo was PERFECT.
- like in manten, fantastic harmony, very snug and polished-sounding. Keiko and Hikaru were just perfect. Everything was perfect. Oh...
- the choreo was cooler...more natural-looking. And Keiko’s facial expressions just send me into hysterics lol (and by that I mean fangirling hysterics...though at times Hikaru’s gesturangst-ing does send me into laughing hysterics...)
- AH how could I forget; Wakana’s ‘sunda mizu no naka e’ was just AAAAA-MAAAA-AZZZZZZINNNGGGG, I actually almost choked whilst inhaling sharply after hearing it...her vibrato at the end of the line on the ‘eeeh’ sound...I was shivering! SHIVERING! *cough cough* Okay, well it seems I inevitably just got back to babbling about Wakana so I’ll stop there before I get too carried away
Kajiura/FJ
the beginning of the end:
- lovely Wakachan~~
- pretty piano
I love watching Kajiura-sensei play, she’s so expressive with her body as well as the music
- nice drums...and beautiful Hitoshi violin~ I know he was playing with a backing track but still, it was lovely
the battle is to the strong:
- When Keiko came in, the harmony just blew me off my feet
kalafina’s 3-people harmony is nice, but honestly, to me, they’ll still always fall short of FJ’s epic four-people harmony. It’s only one singer difference, but it seems to make a big difference to the music...FJ harmonies sound a lot bigger and richer and powerful.
- good job from Yuriko and Wakana...they actually sounded quite similar to Hanae
Overall thoughts:
FJ/Kajiura: Well, I don’t have much to say since they were only present for one/two performances and they were excellent in both.
Band: the drums really stood out for me in this concert...don’t know why...
But it seemed as if Sato Kyoichi modified quite a bit of the drumming in the Kala songs, with the old KnK ballads with seemingly Hikari-furu-esque deep rolling drumbeats.
Choreo: As I said before elsewhere...I was definitely seeing more WaaxKei action in this concert than before...Hikaru I guess was just lost in her own world of seething emotion? XD
With regards to their onstage movements and ‘dancing’, I actually find Keiko to be the most natural on stage. Her gestures are expressive but not excessive and her facial expressions are just soooo charismatic...because her face is perfect...
Wakana seems to be the most subdued on stage, and a bit less active. She doesn’t move around much but I just love looking at
and admiring her face...And then...Hikaru...
...is quite obviously the most dramatic, I think, by general consensus
I love watching her on stage! She just oozes attitude and raw emotion – she’s passionately getting into the music even when she’s not singing
Hikaru actually makes Kalafina performances a lot more interesting, and at times, amusing
I know it’s kind of mean that I laugh at her on stage the most because of her super angsty gestures but I think they need her passion to inject that extra edge to their performances
Vocals:
Hikaru: gave such a polished performance throughout. She did get tired and breathy towards the end of sprinter, but pulled it off. And besides, her ARIA performance, her lines in Seventh Heaven, snow falling...all more than enough to make up for it. I don’t even know that much about singing and my hearing isn’t the best but even to me, Hikaru sounds so much more smooth and in control of her voice without losing any of its power and versatility
I’m always amazed at how similar Hikaru sounds to Hanae in the soprano singing in oblivious. I really wouldn’t mind at all if we heard her singing like that more often
Keiko: ...I feel like I never have much to say about Kei-kun, but it’s not because I don’t care...it’s because Keiko every single performance is just as fantastic as she always is...I can’t think of anything bad to say about her, only praise...well, actually I think this time round, a few of the songs in their setlist might have pushed her out of her usual range into higher notes, e.g. Kizuato, Seventh Heaven?(?) but she handled those very well. I think Keiko is the most solid and steady/consistent performer out of the 3 girls (the other two seem to occasionally have more off-days) so she didn’t disappoint and indeed lived up fully to my expectations
Wakana: I always love Wakana...and I try most of the time to be objective (though I fail miserably
) and not to play favourites (I really try!
)...but after watching this...amazing...incredible...fairytale, Seventh Heaven, Kizuato, snow falling, TTB, manten...I just – can’t – stop – LOVING HER
GYAAAH *is hyperventilating*
Okay. Well, I feel like she has made a return (or partial return, whichever way your opinion lies) to her former glory in this concert, in comparison to recent controversial lives.
I’m not going to say any more about her voice/singing style etc. in case I spark another war I love the way her falsetto/head voice/whatever it’s meant to be called is sounding. It got a bit shaky as I recall before, but now it sounds mostly like it used to circa ‘the land of water/where the lights are/paradise regained’ – light, ‘cool’-sounding and refreshing.
A question, however, did anyone else notice in this concert that Wakachan pronounces her ‘u’ a little strangely/differently now? Like, before, e.g. using todoku as an example, she sort of pronounced it as just ‘todoku’, but now she sings it like ‘todokoo’, changing the ‘ku’ to a more ‘kü/koo’ sound...I remember hearing it in ‘zutto’ in SH, ‘kieteyuku’ in fairytale, and several other times in other place which I can’t remember...does anyone else hear it or is it just me? I was wondering if it that articulation helps with singing or if it’s just a random irrelevant pronunciation habit.
Also...if anyone here has perfect pitch and can tell, or knows for some reason what the highest note in Seventh Heaven is, I’m very curious to know
Because the songs sounds like it gets freaking high at the climaxes!
are you trying to summon a snake, or what? :D At least, let's give a shot to summoning a shark for Wakana! 
